I attempt to speak but have to clear my throat first. “What can I do for you?”
Her hair is pulled into a high, messy ponytail that shows off her neck in a way that brings inappropriate thoughts rushing to the surface. I have to draw my gaze out the window in order to silence the thoughts threatening to plague my mind.
“I wanted to see if you would help me learn how to fly.” I can tell by her soft-spoken words that she’s swallowing her pride.
“Emeric not cutting it?” I tease, turning back around so I can see her annoyed expression.
“Turns out that dragon wings are a lot different from phoenix wings,” she admits as she idly straightens a stack of papers on the desk between us.
“The building-sized wings attached to a monstrous beast didn’t give it away for ya?”
She throws her hands into the air. “What do you want me to do? Beg?”
“Now there’s an idea,” I hiss with a sinister grin I know she wants to send a fireball at.
This is the most we’ve talked in two months, and it feels good to return to our usual playful banter. Despite the daggers she’s glaring at me, I know she misses this, too. It’s who we are. No matter how much we try to fight it.
“Fine,” I exhale. “I guess I’ll settle for a ‘pretty please, King Ryder?’”
“You’re joking…”
I shake my head obnoxiously. “Nope. So, what’s it gonna be?”
She picks up the thick stack of papers and taps them on the desk, lining them all up. “Pretty please, King Ryder?”
Her tone seeps with disdain and mockery—just how I like it. I’m just about to boast about it when she tosses the bundle of papers into the air, letting them fall like snow behind her as she walks out of the room. Her wicked smirk flashes in my mind as I watch the hundred or so sheets of parchment rain down around me.
And just like that, I’m following after the girl who has no idea the power she holds over me.
“Don’t laugh!” she lectures as she brushes the charcoal dirt off her knees.
“I’m sorry,” I offer with a raised hand. “I just—I didn’t realize someone could flail around so much in such a short fall.”
She glowers at me as she shakes out her body like a cub determined to land its first kill. Her resolve to perfect everything she does is both endearing and inspiring. No matter how much life knocks her down, she stands back up every time.Figuratively and literally.
“Are you done?” Her hand is on her hip as her impatience with me grows.
“Alright,” I start as I close the distance between us. “Right now, you’re focused on the mechanics of flying.”
“Yeah, isn’t that kind of the point?”
“Maybe it was before when you were learning how to connect with your wings, but now it’s just making you overthink everything.” I reach for her hand and flip it over. “Form your Elemental Sphere.”
“Why?”
“Just do it. I’m making a point.” She huffs but a second later she’s holding her perfectly formed ball of swirling flames. “How did you do it?”
“What do you mean? I don’t know. I just did it.”
“Exactly. You didn’t think about how to do it, you just let your body and your power take over.” I take a step back, letting my own wings flare behind me. “Don’t think about the invisible string connecting your wings to your wrists, or how the wind feels pressed against them in the air. Instead, think about your fire. Think about how you feel the most alive when you’re free from the restraints you’ve grown so used to keeping on your power. Just focus on being the trustiest version of yourself and the rest will come naturally.”
She takes a deep breath and releases it, closing her eyes. I know better than to stand too close, so I retreat several steps, giving her the space she needs.
“Say something,” she tells me with her eyes still shut. “Anything.”
“Feel the heat of your wings radiating behind you. Feel the prickle of power underneath your skin. Focus on the flickering flame in your heart, wild yet tamed.”
Her body levitates a few feet off the ground as her enormous wings fold around her like a built-in shield meant to protect her. Flames lick the edges of the glowing hot feathers almost putting me in a trance. It’s like looking at a fire dancing in the dark. You want to look away, but you can’t help getting lost in its dangerous beauty.
